According to Planning for Implementation, an implementation manual on gang programs developed by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, anyone seeking to implement a gang intervention or prevention program should take the following steps in setting goals, identifying objectives and planning activities.

The steering committee should first develop three to five goals that are general statements of outcomes. The following are examples:

• Reduce gang-related violent crime in the target area.

• Alleviate community residents' fear of gang activity.

• Reduce targeted youth gang members' rate of school failure and poor academic performance.

The next step is to identify one or more objectives for each goal. Objectives describe the desired outcome and results that can be measured at a certain time. The following are examples:

• Reduce gang-related assaults and batteries, as measured by law enforcement crime data, by 15 percent by Month 18 of the project and 30 percent by Month 36 of the project.

• Reduce the level of gang-related property crime, as measured by law enforcement crime data and community residents' perceptions, in the target area by 20 percent by the end of Year 1 of the project.

• Increase the number of project youth finding and keeping jobs for at least 120 days, as measured by project records, by 25 percent by the end of the Year 2 of the project.

• Increase school achievement of school-age project youth by two grade levels as measured by standardized math and reading test scores by the end of Year 2 of the project.

Then, the steering committee should develop activities and services for each objective. The following are examples of how activities and services might be stated:

• Train and place 25 youth in jobs in Year 1 of the project.

• Provide anger management class to project youth.

• Offer three hours a week of tutoring in math and reading to each school-age youth in project.

• Provide training for employers for working with target population.

• Inform parents of target youth of their child's gang affiliation.

• Initiate tattoo removal program.

• Modify school policies as necessary to promote academic achievement of target population.

Source:

Planning for Implementation (2002). Tallahassee, FL: Institute for Intergovernmental Research.

Copyright 2002, Institute for Intergovernmental Research, All Rights Reserved.